Building management systems do exist in buildings today. An example of an existing building management system is the Novar building management system that has the capability of environmental monitoring and mechanical control. The system architecture allows for a very flexible application of monitored inputs and controlled outputs. Sensors provide an interface to the monitoring input, such as thermistors, transmitters, timed contact closure, and various transducers. The controlled outputs are used as pilot control circuits to interface with relay devices, such as a contactor that contains a 24 volt magnetic coil. A thermostat completes the 24 volt control circuit which causes the contactor to close, starting the compressor. Another output is an analog signal such as a 4 to 20 milliamp current sink or source.
The existing Novar system is based on a master/slave communication network, the RS-485. The master coordinates all communication and is connected, by wire or fiber optic cable, to all slave modules. The master also provides the process commands that cause the slave modules to control the connected equipment.
For example, an air conditioning unit is interfaced to a slave module thereby removing the thermostat. The slave module processor has certain default settings for fan and room temperature which causes the compressors or heat element to cycle on and off while the fan runs continuously. When the slave module is connected to the Master, via a RS-485 digital network, the slave functions can be expanded to scheduled on and off times, setpoint adjustments, enthalpy control, and customized responses to other controlled equipment performance.
Another example of an existing building management system is described in the brochure “IFS 800 Lighting control system” published by Philips Lighting. In this system each appliance, such as a Luminaire, a heating or cooling device or a fan in a space, such as a room, office or shop area, is coupled with a central control system via a communication bus. In this particular system each appliance is controlled by a local controller unit which is connected to the communication bus and regulated by signals from the central control system. The local controllers comprise the necessary electronics for adjusting several appliances to required levels. An occupant of the space communicates a change of the desired levels to the control system by means of infra-red (IR) signals transmitted by a portable IR remote-control unit to an IR-receiver connected to the communication bus. Further, the known system allows additional determination of the desired levels by use of sensors, such as a presence detector, a thermometer or a light sensor.
Another known building management system, suitable for small complexes such as shops and restaurants, is the BatiBUS/ISIS system, commercialized by the company Merlin Gerin, Meylan, F-38240 France. In this system each appliance includes its own local controller which is connected to the communication bus. Security and alarms can be incorporated in this known system.
In the known systems, the local controllers and the appliances are connected to the communication bus by wires. In a modem office building or commercial complex this is a drawback as spaces are often changed. Changing virtually always requires displacement of the appliances and often also tearing down and rebuilding of internal walls. To achieve a flexible floor lay-out at low cost, a minimum of wiring in the walls is required. However, it is also required by the users of a building to have full control over the location of the appliances, consequently placing appliances on predetermined spots only is unacceptable. In all the above systems, the current problems comprising expense and physical limitation of connecting slave modules in multiple stores is obvious and often prohibitive. For example, take the situation where two stores in a mall shopping center are separated by one thousand feet. The first location has a Novar system while the second is using standard electromechanical devices. The second store location would clearly benefit from the energy savings of a Novar system, however, the cost to run a cable is prohibitive. Additionally, the building architecture could make such a wire connection nearly impossible, let alone cost prohibitive. The prior art necessitated another master be installed rather than add more slave modules to the existing system. Energy savings are thereby offset by the cost of a system and associated installation, and the recovery of those costs precedes financial benefit of energy savings. The installation of a complete master/slave(s) communication network caused many facilities to forego the use of such systems based on time to recover initial investment.
Alternatively, the vendor tracking system, which incorporates an industrial operator interface, is an entirely novel part of an embodiment the present invention. Simple single site vendor logging time-in and time-out can be accomplished through the use of security systems, bar code systems and time clock systems. However, the expense of installing and supporting such a system, in multiple locations, using wired digital networks, has made this device economically impractical in the past. The system communication architecture is also master/slave, RS-485, therefore, the same limitations exist when wire connection are used. An example of this system communication architecture is a device manufactured by Maple Systems.
Utility monitoring systems do exist in buildings today. An example of an existing utility monitoring system is the Interlane Utility Management System. The architecture of this typical system can be explained in three (3) main components. A utility node, transducer, and/or transmitter is applied to the incoming utility service which is to monitored. This provides an analog signal, typically pulse width modulation, although alternate systems employ signals such as 4-20 milliamp current sinking and direct current voltage ramping, which is connected to the main processor input.
Second, the main processor scans the status of the inputs, Interlane offers 9 possible inputs for each main processor, and retains the analog signals as digital information. Finally, a critical function for any utility system is data storage, or memory capacity. The data must be maintained for periods of time often exceeding 60 days.
The prior art has addressed the issue of site data gathering through several means. As described, the Interlane system employs analog signals, other systems have used power line carrier waves, injecting communication onto existing electrical lines. Another prior method has been through Ultra High Frequency, UHF, and 900 Megahertz transponders.
All of the above methodology has succeeding in facilities occupied by a single tenant or owner occupied buildings, and those structures with largely open floor plans. The prior art has succeeded in single site applications transmitting data to the exterior of the building or structure for utility gathering purposes of local utility providers, thus improving the efficiency of data collection.
However, the present invention embodies the high data throughput capacity to handle multiple site inputs combined with multiple sites. The limited number of inputs is predicated on reducing the cost of each respective system, since severe physical limitations exist for analog systems, the system must be reduced to entice the moderate size facility, 10,000 to 50,000 square feet. Although the main processor is capable of handling more information, the successful systems have downsized its input capability and consequently, the cost.
The systems which employ power line carrier wave technology have encountered market resistance from primarily multi-tenant facilities and property management service personnel. The application of communication bridges across service panels and transformers, which is necessary to utilize the entire electrical distribution system as a communication network, has caused concern of both electrical failure and interference with connected electrical appliances and/or devices. Both issues are liabilities of this prior art.
UHF/900 MHZ transponder systems have succeeding in short range application, typically within a single facility of moderate size. The prevalence of outside interference for both frequency ranges has been the paramount obstacle. The power output of the radio transceiver must be increased substantially to penetrate these interferences, which creates site licensing requirements by the Federal Communication Commission, FCC.
The application of 2.4 Gigahertz microwave radio frequency, combined with spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology increases the resilience of low power transmission to outside interference. Spread spectrum provides multiple frequency broadcast, whose propagation characteristics are best represented by a dome. The center band, or peak of the dome, represents the optimum output power of the transmitter. The sloping sides of the dome represent the additional transmission bands, or frequencies, as they descend in strength. This invention employs a total of 15, distinct transmission bands, although this can be modified based on transceiver. Frequency hopping dynamically redefines the center band, or peak of the dome. This necessitates an algorithm to realign the spread, or descending side bands, used for spread spectrum. This invention clearly is an improvement of the prior art through a new, and unique combination of microwave technology, advanced logic capability of the radio transceiver, and digital conversion technology compatible with various data collection devices.
The present invention embodies several advantages over the conventionally wired sub-systems, of which the integration is also new, is part of this invention. The limitations which exist for all hard wire systems is inherent to the restrictions which occur when installing cabling. The cost considerations are primarily labor related, although in certain instances, the cable can be quite costly. First, the labor factor, or installation cost directly attributable to personnel, must be weighed against the equipment cost. The advantage of this invention is the economic incentive which it will provide in large facilities or compounds, such as a shopping mall.
A business establishment within a shopping mall can benefit from reduced utility costs and new management information resources. The present system offers an economical advantage to the establishment by proving increased building efficiency and management control and information. If a shopping mall or other building complex uses independent or stand alone installations of each prior art sub-system, the cost is increased thereby increasing the time for return on the investment. Typically, such capital investments are based on 5 years, or less, for the return to be realized.
There exists several benefits of employing the configuration and wireless network of this invention. Within a single location, the costs associated with cable installation may prove economical to use of a wireless network within the confines of that space. Although, the overall cost may be less to run cabling within the site using the prior art system architecture and equipment, but the benefit of the wireless application becomes obvious when additional locations are considered. The wireless network of the present invention provides an adaptable format for much system expansion.
The installation cost to add an additional location or site is typically much more due to the structural design of the location, whether it be the underground installation, which may require extensive destructive and/or non-destructive investigation to find the best path, or the aesthetics/cosmetics of the structures. Hence, the prior art reverted to independent systems which require a new base or master in each location. This again resulted in escalated costs as a consequence of only a short distance or physical separation of the sites.
Due to sophisticated building design and architecture, is often not feasible to physically interconnect multiple locations within the overall structure. For example, a shopping mall designed with large glass enclosed atriums and inner-city installations. Conversely, large distances between sites create a similar barrier. Also, an commercial, office or industrial park is often configured with many free-standing structures. These structures are maintained and/or operated by the property management group, which is required to treat each facility as independent unless substantial investment is made into underground or overhead networks. Such networks, fiber optic or cabling, is economically prohibitive to many developers. Furthermore, use of public utilities, such as telephony devices, incur repetitive expenses, also making the prior art methods using independent systems very cost prohibitive.
In contradistionction, an added benefit of the system of the present invention is the inherent distribution of the system cost as additional locations are added. The base, or master, system of this invention is a fixed, one time expenditure which, based on this invention, can adapt to additional location without consequential base hardware costs. Therefore, additional stores reduce the actual cost of the base system based on the number of locations set up on the wireless network.
The prior art methods and systems required a recurring base (or master) which, in turn, repeated the hardware cost, in addition to the associated slave modules and control devices. This is eliminated by the system of the present invention. Once the system of this invention is installed in one geographical area it creates an omnidirectional and/or directional network capable of supporting dissimilar structures over a large range of area. This, in turn, further reduces the overall system cost.
Also, this invention can be used as a “shared tenant services” provider in any of a number of large, multi-tenant complexes to provide such services as telephony, video, etc. The system of this invention can bypas the local communication network, such as phone service, cable service, security service, etc., and can actually become a service provider such as a security service.
Finally, due to the progressive design of this invention and its compatibility with associated technologies, several alternate sub-system formats can be employed. As discussed herein, the high throughput data rate of microwave radio transmissions predicated its development. Large microwave data transmission stations have been employed for both public and private communications. Such communications include digital audio, digital video, and digital voice transmission. As provided below in the detailed description, alternate sub-system network capability is another novel feature of this invention.